1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooperative image processing system that includes: an image processing apparatus such as a Multi-Function Peripheral (MFP), i.e., a multifunctional digital machine; a portable information apparatus such as a smartphone or a tablet computer terminal that is capable of physically or wirelessly connecting to the image processing apparatus; a cooperative image processing method for the cooperative image processing system; the portable information apparatus; the image processing apparatus; and a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
In recent years, users can store digital documents on their portable information apparatuses such as smartphones and tablet computer terminals, and even view and edit the stored documents anytime and anywhere they like. After editing a document by their portable information apparatuses, users can transmit the document to an image processing apparatus such as a MFP to have it printed out by or stored on the image processing apparatus. Users also can create a file consisting of image data, for example, by scanning a physical paper document with a scanner of the image processing apparatus, transmit it to their portable information apparatuses to edit the file thereby.
Meanwhile, in recent years, there is a cooperative image processing system with an image processing apparatus and portable information apparatuses, which allows users to access functions of the image processing apparatus from their portable information apparatuses. In this cooperative image processing system, each portable information apparatus is allowed to display on its display portion, an operation screen that looks identical with that on an operation panel of the image processing apparatus; transmit to the image processing apparatus, operation information indicating the user's operations entered through the operation screen; and receive the operation information therefrom, thus the image processing apparatus is allowed to work the same as if the user operated the original operation screen of the image processing apparatus.
With this cooperative image processing system, users can instruct the image processing apparatus to execute its function, by operating the portable information apparatus as if they operated an original operation screen of the image processing apparatus, i.e.; users can instruct the image processing apparatus and their portable information apparatuses to perform processing on a file cooperatively, simply by operating an operation screen of their portable information apparatuses. Thus this cooperative image processing system achieves smooth cooperation between the image processing apparatus and the portable information apparatus.
By the way, when a user operates the image processing apparatus or his/her portable information apparatus, the image processing apparatus or the portable information apparatus usually generates and stores its log information that is an operation history proving the evidence of the user operations. The image processing apparatus and the portable information apparatus usually create and store their own log information, and so they do even in the cooperative image processing system which makes the image processing apparatus and each portable information apparatus perform processing on a file cooperatively, as described above.
When searching for a certain file that has been subjected to processing by the image processing apparatus and the portable information apparatus cooperatively, users are bothered to examine log information of both the image processing apparatus and the portable information apparatus by operating different screens from the image processing apparatus and the portable information apparatus separately, which is quite troublesome.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-119870 discloses a system including image forming apparatuses and an information processing apparatus, the system being characterized by: allowing users to select an image forming apparatus, the state of which they wish to confirm immediately; making the selected image forming apparatus transmit, when there is a change in its state, a file including the state log to an external file server; making the information processing apparatus show a list of all image forming apparatuses in the system on its screen, while adding only to the selected image forming apparatus in the list, a button for showing the state of it; and when the button is pressed, making the information processing apparatus show the state of the selected image forming apparatus on the basis of the state log included in the file originated from the selected image forming apparatus.
However, the technique described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-119870 only makes the information processing apparatus control the states of all the image forming apparatuses, not providing a perfect solution to the problem that search for a certain file is never easy in a cooperative image processing system which makes an image processing apparatus and a portable information apparatus perform processing cooperatively on a file.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, certain features of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages, while still retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.